Pathological Gambling in a sample of young Italians

Among the causes of pathological gambling, the main theoretical reference models identify several conditions of greater individual vulnerabilities, underlined and sustained by a combination of biological, environmental, clinical, psychological, behavioural, economic and social predictive factors. This study aims to highlight aspects that motivate gambling. It provides a comparison between “heavy gamblers” (those who played more than 100 euro per week in the last three months), and “moderate risk gamblers” (those who gambled on average up to 100 euro a week in the last three months). In addition, the study aims to define characteristics of gambling, as well as of the gambler, which may facilitate the emergence of problematic addiction. Out of 1717 questionnaires administered, 1258 subjects filled the questionnaire stating that they had gambled at least once in the last three months: 41 (3%) were classifiable as “strong gamblers”, while 1157 (92%) were “moderate risk gamblers”. In the study, 80 subjects (6%) gambled on average more than 3 times a week, while 1140 subjects (91%) played up to 3 times a week. The family context also plays a fundamental role: 44% of “strong gamblers” and 19% of “moderate risk gamblers” reported having a family member who gambles.